


all the universe laboured to bring us together (the rest is up to us)

by Janusa



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, F/F, Feelings Realization, Idiots in Love, Multiverse, Pining, Supercorp endgame, i hold no respect for science. give me that artistic license, mxyzptlk is the captain of the sc ship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:02:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28539303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Janusa/pseuds/Janusa
Summary: Kara just wants things to go back to normal with Lena until she realizes that she actually wants more.Or in which Mxyzptlk takes Kara to different earths where they are friends but Lena is in established relationships so Kara can finally realize she's in love with Lena.(alternatively, they are in love in every universe even when they are not together)
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Lena Luthor/Other(s)
Comments: 57
Kudos: 349





	1. earth-62

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm not sure which earths besides 1 and 38 were affected by the crisis and tbh I don't care. I have no knowledge about the comics either but all the earths that'll feature weren't mentioned in the research I did so I don't mess with them.

_All the universe laboured to bring us together. The rest is up to us._

-Beau Taplin, Our Obligation

.

.

The knock on the door should be ominous enough by itself. It’s two in the morning and Kara just got into bed after a long day at CatCo and catching bad guys.

Another knock.

A part of her, the part that is so incredibly tired tells her to let whoever is outside, there.

But what if it's Rhonda? Her old neighbor, who frequently loses her glasses and asks Kara for help to find them.

She doesn’t check who’s on the other side before opening. Alex would berate her for that but she’s always thought that is very unlikely for someone who’s planning to attack her to politely ask to come in.

However, this time using her x-ray vision could have saved her the stupid dumbfounded face she puts on when she finds Mxyzptlk in her corridor, watering Mr. Juarez laceleaf.

Mxyzptlk with a… mustache?

“‘Sup!” he says, throwing the water can behind him, and Kara watches it disappear into thin air.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to apologize, this time for real. Not that last time was fake but just that this time won’t be as disastrous. May I?”

Kara moves from the entrance on autopilot.

She should have learned by now to expect the unexpected but it’s been more than a year since she last saw him. He’s about the last person that would have come to her mind.

Mxyzptlk looks at ease in her apartment, walking around the place picking up trinkets and inspecting them with a clinical eye.

“Still so colorful and… mismatched.” he murmurs, putting the night lamp with rainbows Kara had bought in a bazaar in its place.

Kara narrows her eyes, she doesn’t have the energy nor the patience to hear a fifth-dimensional being criticize her decoration.

“I was about to go to bed so if that’s all you came to say. Please.” she gestures towards the door with her hand. “I had a rough day, more like a rough week and I don’t say this often but I need to rest.”

“I _know_ , Kara. I’ve been watching.” _Because that’s not creepy at all._ “And a little bird told me you haven’t solved all your issues with miss Lena Luthor.”

Kara clenches her jaw. Lena is kind of a sore topic. They have talked, said their pieces, taken responsibility for their parts, and forgiven each other but things aren’t back to normal.

Yes, she is part of the Superfriends again, she’s back at game night, and they have lunch once a week to catch up. Despite this, they aren’t partners at Trivia or Pictionary, Lena hasn’t returned her unrestricted access to her office or apartment.

She knows that Lena trusts her with her life, there have been more than enough situations to prove it. 

So yeah, Lena trusts her with her life but she doesn’t trust her with her time, she doesn’t trust her with her personal space or her unrestrained laughs.

Not quite, not yet. Kara knows it’ll take time. She doesn’t care, she will spend her life showing Lena that (alongside Alex) she’s the most important person in her life. Although, if she’s being honest, she would like to have the certainty that it will happen. That someday they will be back to what they were.

Not that she would stop if she knew they won’t. Lena deserves someone that will always fight for her, and Kara will be that person, she’ll be whatever Lena needs her to be.

“We are working things out.” she manages to say.

“Well, that’s why I’m here. I know things may seem bleak now, I’m gonna show you that there’s hope for you both.”

Kara crosses her arms and goes to sit on the armrest of her couch. “More possible realities? Because that went well last time.”

“No, not possible, _actual_ realities. Other earths in which you are friends and well.”

Kara swallows, she has wondered about it a couple of times, especially after going through those alternative realities if they even crossed their paths somewhere else.

“Wouldn’t that be problematic for the inhabitants of those earths?” 

“Fifth-dimensional being here, remember?” he says, playing with his hat and pulling a vase with plumerias out of it. “We won’t be physically there."

“The TV?”

“Nope. We’ll project ourselves there, almost like Miss Rojas VR lenses. We’ll see, hear, and smell everything there but won’t be able to interact. Like Scrooge’s ghosts. I'm your Christmas miracle!"

Kara deadpans. “But it's January.”

“A stupid month if you ask me. So what'd you say?"

Kara wraps herself tighter in her fluffy robe. “It wouldn’t affect anything here or there?”

“That’s right.”

She gulps. It won’t hurt anyone if she just gives a little peek into another earth, will it? And wasn't this what she had been looking for? A ray of hope, a boost to her confidence.

That's why she finds herself nodding, her sight lost, watching the scratched floor of her apartment but her ear focused on Lena's steady heart rate. She must be asleep.

"Okay."

"Perfect. Buckle up and grab my hand." Mxyzptlk exclaims but does it for her. "First stop, earth-62!"

  
  


.

.

**•earth-62•**

Kara is muzzy after they 'land', she imagines this is what humans feel like after a teacup ride. The place they are in is too bright compared to the darkness of her home they just left. Mxyzptlk doesn't seem to have the same problem as her, in fact, he looks more put together than before and it takes her a minute to realize that the reason is that he changed his clothes for a black tuxedo. She looks down at her own clothes to find the same pajamas she was wearing.

"Oh, sorry. Did you want?" He points at her outfit with two fingers.

"No, it's fine." She dismisses him. No one can see her, anyway. "You said this is earth-62?"

He nods and starts walking down an indistinct corridor, Kara follows him.

“Things are a little different in this timeline.”

“Different how?”

“Lex Luthor didn’t go nuts and he’s now like, mmm like Iron Man.”

“Who?”

“Bad reference, he’s a genius playboy with a lot of scandals.” Mxyzptlk displays several tabloids and magazine covers in front of them with Lex’s name on the headlines. _Alcohol_ , _drugs,_ and _orgy_ , are the most featured words in them. 

She observes with distaste a picture of Lex with a toupee falling off his head and a beautiful woman to his side, both clearly inebriated.

“Just to clarify, he’s not evil?”

Mxyzptlk shrugs.

“I’ve heard all billionaires are evil but genocidal-evil? No.”

“Ok, two questions. First, how this influenced my relationship with Lena, and second, where are we?

“For the first one, you haven't met yet.”

“You said that we were on good terms in this timeline!”

“How better do you want it to be, you don’t know each other but…” he added upon seeing Kara’s murderous expression. “but let me finish because both answers intertwine. Lex is still leading LuthorCorp hence Lena didn’t leave Metropolis and continued working on her research and guess what? Cancer is cured! More like it will be, it needs some little adaptations but-”

“Really?” Kara can't help smile proudly, she always knew Lena would eventually do it. “That’s great but please, focus Myz.”

“We are in Sweden, Stockholm to be more precise.”

"Wait" she looks around and there at the back of the hall is an immense organ and below row after row of red velvet chairs. “Is this Concert Hall?”

“Surprise! We’re at the Nobel Prize ceremony." His hands do something that can't be described as anything but spirit fingers. "You’re the future winner of a Nobel Peace Prize, Lena will get hers on Medicine. God, your brains.”

"Wait, then that means we're both here… are we meeting today?" She asks with a tangle of nerves and anticipation already settled in her stomach. 

"Yep."

“When?”

He turns to the right, the sign for the women's restroom is there and Kara is confused once again. "That would be about now." 

Mxyzptlk nudges her closer to the wall on time to see a woman come out of the restroom in a hurried pace. Her dress is long and flowy with an asymmetric neckline, she can't see her face, just the pale skin of her nape and uncovered shoulder.

Kara doesn't need to, she could recognize her by looking at one sole of her fingers.

Lena is walking and searching for something in her clutch so she doesn't notice another person going in her direction, as distracted as her and thinking the other will be the one to step aside.

They crash but only one of them falls.

"Ouch, you're hard." Lena groans from her place on the floor.

The other woman gasps, Kara turns her attention to her only to find her doppelgänger with a panicked expression. There is something off with this 62-Kara and it takes her a hot second to realize that she is wearing her hair down in waves which is a main characteristic of Supergirl, her glasses, however, are sitting on the bridge of her nose as usual.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Let me help you." 62-Kara apologizes and leans down to hold Lena by the forearms and put her back on her feet.

"Wow, strong.” Lena murmurs to herself and checks her dress for wrinkles. “No need to worry, I wasn't looking either." 

She offers an easy smile and places one lock of hair that escaped her updo behind her ear.

62-Kara freezes when her eyes set on Lena, rosy cheeks and some stammering come next. It’s almost painful to watch and she tries to recall her first meeting with Lena (well, her Lena, not this equally stunning 62-earth version of her).

“Doctor Lena Luthor.” 62-Kara manages to say and fiddles with her glasses, a gesture that Kara recognizes as a sign of nervousness.

“Thank you for the title but you may call me Lena, Kara Danvers.”

Both Karas frown and point at themselves with their index finger. “You know me?”

"She knows me?"

Kara’s memory is almost perfect but she never knew how deep in her brain was Lena and everything related to her until now. 62-Lena is her Lena but she also is not and Kara can notice the small differences that talk of a different life and different choices. Like the inch-long scar on her jaw, it’s faded and mostly covered by foundation, and when 62-Lena lifts an eyebrow, the arch is less pronounced than the one she has seen a thousand times over the last seven years. It’s bizarre and fascinating.

“Who hasn’t heard of Supergirl?”

Hearing her superhero name out of the lips of this Lena gives her whiplash. 

“Hold on. Is my identity on this earth not a secret?”

“Here’s where the story changes again. You're still a reporter but the plane where your sister was didn't crash so you never became a superhero although the name somehow found you."

"I'm a big fan of your work too." Kara hears her own voice and forgets about Mxyzptlk. "I read about your advances on transmatter technology and how it could be applied to help endangered zones and I think it's absolutely brilliant. Well, you are absolutely brilliant but of course, you know that or you wouldn't be here and- and I'm talking too much."

“I don’t ramble this much.”

Mxyzptlk squints one eye. “You kinda do.”

In front of her, Lena chuckles and 62-Kara blushes even more. "Thank you, Miss Danvers."

"Just Kara is fine."

"Then thank you, Kara. I would love to keep chatting but the ceremony is about to start and my fiance must be looking for me."

For the first time since 62-Lena appeared she notices the ring sitting on her left hand. Kara purses her lips. "Fiance?"

"There you are, love!" A grave and British accented voice calls. Jack Spheer is standing in his full bearded glory at the end of the aisle. His name has just been added to the steadily growing list of people she didn't expect to see today (or ever again).

Kara shakes her head. "Lena broke up with him on our earth, how's that they are engaged here?" 

"Since Lena never left Metropolis they hadn't to." Mxyzptlk provides.

"Just like that?"

Mxyzptlk shrugs. "They also work together, that brings people close."

Jack chooses that moment to continue before Kara can comment on anything else. "They gave the second call. Everybody is taking their seats."

Lena nods in his direction, with soft eyes, and a smile. "Yes, I'll be with you in a minute."

62-Kara's sight follows Jack's retreating figure for a moment before going back to Lena.

"Sorry for literally running into you, it was a pleasure, now I'll go check if there's a sewing kit or something in this fancy restroom to fix my dress."

"What happened? Maybe I can help."

62-Kara moves her hand from where it has been covering her chest during the whole exchange. She is wearing a pearl dress with silver details but the fabric where the sweetheart neckline dips is torn, making her show more skin than she’s comfortable with.

“Manufacturing defect?” Lena asks with a questioning glance while she fiddles with the shoulder of her own dress.

“No, actually I was trying to pull a thread off and I think I may have pulled too hard.”

Lena furrows her eyebrows for a second and continues with what she’s doing.

“Well, I’m afraid to tell you that you won't find a sewing kit in there but this may do the work.” she says offering a four-leaf shamrock brooch with embedded emeralds and diamonds.

“Are you sure? Seems expensive."

"It's a loan, you'll return it to me later."

"Of course, I'll look for you after the ceremony." Her double says and takes the offered item between her fingers.

Lena waves her goodbye, she hasn't given as much as two steps before 62-Kara calls her again.

"Lena, congratulations on your win, by the way."

The woman tilts her head, the strand from behind her ear falls and hits her nose.

"I haven't won anything."

"I have no doubts you will."

There are small differences between 62-Lena and her Lena but the smile. That is just as bright.

"Likewise."


	2. earth-55

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> out of all the earths i have planned for this fic, this is probably the one i'd like to write a full story about. Hope you guys enjoy it :)

_Friends don't stand around, playing with their keys_   
_Finding reasons not to leave_

-Maddie & Tae, Friends Don't

.

.

**•earth-55•**

Dizziness. Again.

Kara is in the lobby of Lena's building and the imp is sitting at the reception where she usually sees Yosef playing League of Legends on his computer.

She twirls in her place, everything looks the same as on her earth but somehow she knows they are not on earth-prime. 

"Where are we now? Why did you take us out?”

Mxyzptlk is rummaging through the things on the front desk, he stops when he finds a stack of magazines and pamphlets.

“Earth-55 and nothing interesting was going to happen.”

“I was literally going to receive a Nobel prize!”

“No, that was Kara Danvers from earth-62.” Mxyzptlk lowers his head to flip a page of the magazine in his hand, it’s a CatCo number with Kate Kane on the cover. “Taking credit for other people’s work, jeez.”

Kara crosses her arms over her chest.

“Didn’t you say we couldn’t interact here?”

“No, I actually meant to say we _wouldn’t_.” Kara narrows her eyes and stands straighter. If Mxyzptlk tries to pull something funny she’s ready to throw him into the sun as soon as she gets home. “Only to avoid problems, especially you, since there is already a Kara here.”

Kara deflates a little. It makes sense, she wouldn't want to give a hard time to one of her other selves.

“But tell me, my dear Kryptonian friend. What did you think of our visit to earth-62?”

“It reminded me a little of my first meeting with Lena,” she smiles, almost imperceptibly. “it also was a little weird, they look the same as _us_ and they are in a way but they also aren’t?”

Kara scratches her scalp in a frustrating motion. “I don’t know what I’m saying anymore.”

“No, it makes perfect sense. I can assure you, all the universes I’ve been in connect in some way between them.”

That reminds Kara of a question that had come up to her mind but hadn’t had the chance to ask. 

“What we saw on earth-62, was that the present? You mentioned that nothing interesting was going to happen and you knew Lena and I -that Kara, were going to win.”

Mxyzptlk looks troubled, maybe indecisive about if he should tell her or not. “It’s hard to explain.”

He doesn’t elaborate and Kara is one more time left hanging because as if on cue, someone enters the lobby. 

It's Kara, _another_ Kara. 

She looks just out of work; her satchel is crossed over her body and a few hairs stray off her low ponytail, she is carrying two grocery bags in each hand and Kara can see that at least two of those bags are full of junk food.

55-Kara smiles at Mxyzptlk, whose appearance has changed to that of a fifty-something years old man.

"Good evening, Dave." 

"Good evening, Kara." He greets her. "How was work today, anything remarkable to report?"

55-Kara makes her way to the elevator and presses for it. "Only a gas leak at the station; a worker's negligence, but not much besides that, bad guys have been quiet for a while."

"That's a good thing." 

The other woman looks pensive for a moment until the elevator opens with a _ding_ , she waits for the person on it to get out and nods at Dave-Mxyzptlk in goodbye.

"Yeah, it's good."

Mxyzptlk points towards the elevator, hiding behind an open magazine, and mouths what she thinks is between the lines of _"Gotta keep an eye on the reception."_ and _"Dave’s break."_

Kara is inside the elevator with her other self before it closes. She takes a moment to observe this Kara. She is wearing brown slacks and a baby blue shirt with a navy slipover. The image gives her the sudden urge of burning all the cocktail dresses she had bought in some failed attempt to 'reinvent' her style. Kara sighs, at least the bangs have grown.

55-Kara takes off her glasses and perches them on her slipover. At least, that answers the conundrum of if Lena knew about her secret or not. Wait, is she even Supergirl here? How is it that she hadn’t even thought to ask Mxyzptlk about the differences of this earth?

The elevator stops on Lena's floor, and Kara doesn't miss how her double's shoulders fall, then she takes a deep breath and steps out.

55-Kara doesn't knock, instead, she enters a code and her fingerprint on a panel next to the door.

It shouldn't surprise her as much as it does; it's normal for best friends to have the key -or in this case, password- of your apartment. 

It's not for them, though; Kara can count with her fingers the number of times she's been to Lena's apartment, she always preferred Kara's apartment when given the option. The blonde used to ascribe it to her friend's private character but she knows better now. It's about control; in that way, Lena can decide when to arrive, when to leave, or even to abandon uncomfortable situations.

Kara used to have a free pass at Lena's office but she never had free entrance to her most personal space. That's not how they were, however, it seems _that_ is how this Kara and Lena are.

At first glance, the inside of 55-Lena's apartment looks the same as Kara remembers it back home but there are some knick-knacks that look out of place for the minimalist white and grey aesthetic of the decor. For starters, there are framed pictures, _a lot,_ why does Kara choose to focus on this? That's because the only visible picture in her Lena's apartment had been the one she had gifted her for _Galentine's Day_. The one where Lena has her arms wrapped around her and their cheeks are pressed together, Kara has that same picture well-kept between the pages of her journal.

"No, Lena! What are you doing on your feet?" 55-Kara exclaims, leaving the bags she's brought over Lena’s pristine kitchen countertop.

Lena stops mid-motion and lifts the glass in her hand.

"Drinking water."

Despite the unharmful nature of the activity, there’s still worry in 55-Kara's eyes. She comes closer to Lena and rubs her hands up and down her arms. This Lena doesn't tense nor flinch at the touch, doesn't take a few seconds to accept it, and reciprocate with a sweater paw on 55,-Kara's waist.

What's different here? What had to be different for Lena not to look about to break whenever she receives a caring touch?

Has been the world kinder to her here or just her family? Has her 55-self had something to do with it? 

Questions seem to be the only thing in Kara's mind since Mxyzptlk appeared at her doorstep. They continue adding up to the list, tenfold compared to the answers she obtains.

“Are you cold, do you want tea or hot chocolate? I can make them in a jiffy.”

“Kara.” Lena draws out her name, she manages to look endeared and irritated in equal measures. Her face lacks some of the severity makeup and neat hairdos provide her but her lashes are long and caress her cheekbones with each blink.

If she were up close to Lena, she's sure she would be hypnotized by the view, just like her doppelganger is at the moment. Thankfully, she's at a safe distance, checking on the snacks in the bags and pondering the possibilities of taking one without being noticed or her hand passing through it like a ghost.

"Nia told me James is still in Metropolis." 55-Kara murmurs like she doesn't want to break the quietude of the moment. It's useless, Lena's face hardens as soon as the words register and that sets off her red alerts.

Lena presses her lips on a tight line and makes her way towards the couch, this one is different; bigger and cozier like the one Kara has on her apartment but in grey and probably worth three more zeros.

"Something came up again and he had to stay. I don't know what, I didn't ask."

55-Kara clenches her jaw and the grind of her teeth is loud and clear to her ears. The total opposite of the voice she uses with Lena.

"You should have told me and I'd have come."

Lena sighs and rolls her eyes, she takes the blanket that is on the armrest and covers her legs with it.

Kara's eyes wander over the several pictures scattered around the living room. There's a portrait, black and white of Lena peacefully sleeping with her hands pillowing her head and her hair framing her face, another of the Super Friends at game night judging by the Jenga and Monopoly box in the background.

However, there is one in particular that catches her attention. She had guessed when 55-Kara mentioned James that there was _something_ there. Marriage, though, hadn't been her first bet, mainly because Lena is not wearing a ring. But the picture on the coffee table of Lena and James' wedding is convincing enough.

Kara doesn't understand the sudden weight in her chest. 

When Lena and James had dated it hadn't felt like this; she saw them hug and kiss more than once without batting an eye. _Rao_ , she had played matchmaker to get them together! That's why it doesn't make sense that right now she can't stand looking at a picture where they are just holding hands and walking down an aisle with family and friends clapping behind them.

"Kara, I'm not sick." She hears Lena say but her eyes are still fixated on the picture. She's already spotted herself, one of many in the background, a mere spectator amongst many. Unimportant in the grandiosity of the event.

The shot is not clear enough to let her see her expression. She doesn't know much about 55-Kara but she can't imagine her being too excited about it if her reaction to Lena's comment about James is an indicator. She scans every part and pixel of the picture, engraving every detail into memory even though she doesn't need to.

Putting it on human words, it's like bothering an aching tooth, only that she's not just sure which tooth aches. Things with James never led to anything because she didn't want to. Then what is this about?

She's regretting not having taken the opportunity to discover how far James and she could have gone or has she just realized she still has feelings for him?

"No, but Nia also told me you were craving chocomint and chips, that sounded like an emergency to me."

"You're CatCo's editor-in-chief _and_ Superwoman, I doubt there's enough time in your schedule to sleep, let aside be my personal delivery woman."

"You always come first, you know that. Besides we can't let the baby be hungry."

The change of her superhero name, as well as her current position on CatCo, fly over her head, all that she can hear is the second part of that sentence. She looks down at Lena's belly and sure there is a bump, hidden by the fabric of the blanket and a long cardigan.

"Why is everyone acting like I'm going to break?"

"Because a threatened miscarriage is something serious."

"I know and I've been following doctor's orders to a T. Jess has taken care of everything."

"Yes but _I_ _am_ your best friend, not Jess." 

Lena lets out a laugh.

"How cocky."

"It's the truth, now, shoo shoo, let's go to bed, you need rest."

Surprise is not a strong enough word to describe Kara's current state, shock would be more accurate. 

55-Kara takes some of the snacks with them to the principal bedroom and turns on the TV but none of them pays it attention.

Lena gets comfortable on the bed, tucks a pillow behind her, and leans against the padded headboard.

55-Kara hovers around like a mother hen, making sure the other woman is warm and comfortable. At last, she lays next to Lena over the duvet, one folded arm supporting her head on her palm.

"It's gotten so big." 55-Kara comments, with her eyes fixed on Lena's belly.

It isn't that big, actually, Kara estimates Lena can't have more than five months.

The dark-haired woman takes a piece of her chocolate and looks down at Kara's double viciously. "Are you calling me fat?"

"Maybe." She says and it's playful, then she steals a bite from the sweet in Lena's hand.

Lena chuckles and leaves her empty wrap on the night table. She then points with her index finger to the vanity, 55-Kara hands her a cream and returns to her place on the bed. Lena tugs her shirt up and with expert fingers begins to spread the cream on the stretch marks that are starting to form.

She must notice 55-Kara's stare, how could she not. Even for Kara, it's a little unsettling the intensity and unnamed emotion exposed in her pupils.

"Want to touch?"

She can swear 55-Kara's hand is trembling before she touches the pale skin of Lena's stomach. There are beauty marks sprinkling it that Kara had no cognizance of and she idly wonders how they look in her own Lena's stomach if it feels as soft as the rest of her friend did when they hugged.

(or that's what Kara remembers, they haven't hugged in a life. The statement more than metaphorical.)

55-Kara smiles and looks up at Lena. "I can hear her heart."

A baby girl. Kara knows it shouldn't be relevant or even matter, that she shouldn't feel attached to a baby she learned about ten minutes ago. She still can't help it, not when it's Lena's.

Kara can already envision it; a baby girl with Lena's eyes, dark hair, and dimples. Witty and smart like her mother but soft in a way she was never allowed to be, and above all, loved. 

She has never met anyone with a bigger and kinder heart than Lena. The entrance to it isn't easy, it takes time and effort but she is talking from experience when she says that few people can love like Lena Luthor; for her is all or nothing and Kara is fortunate to still be part of the people she holds close to her heart -even if they're going through a rough patch.

"I'd like you to be the godmother."

Kara isn't sure how the conversation led them to this. She's pretty sure she missed a part of it.

55-Kara trips on her words a couple of times but she accomplishes to ask an eloquent _me?_

Lena nods. "There's nobody else I'd dream of asking."

"Then the answer is yes, just let me warn you. I'll spoil this baby so much and you can't change my mind."

"More than your sister's children?"

"You think I spoil Jeremiah and John? You've seen nothing, Lee."

Lena laughs at the seriousness of 55-Kara's face, her heart is beating fast, both of them are. The blonde changes her position on the bed and sits next to Lena.

"Have you thought of any names yet?"

Lena's heartbeat could be confused with a hummingbird's. There's no actual hesitance in her pause but more like cautiousness.

"James and I talked about it and thought of something neutral like Sasha or Alexis but we are going to be sentimental in this one."

"So?" 55-Kara's eyes wide and expectant, hanging on each of her friend's words. Now she understands what Alex says when she compares her with a puppy.

"You know how much you mean to James and to me. You're my family and besides this little one in here the most important person to me." her hand finds 55-Kara's and tangles her fingers with hers. "We want to name her Kara if you are okay with it."

Kara feels Mxyzptlk's presence the moment he materializes in the bedroom.

"I always thought the 'pregnant women have this shine' speech was bullshit but she does look prettier."

It's all he says, clearly more a comment to the air than an attempt to initiate a conversation. Kara answers either way.

" _Beautiful._ " 

There's water in 55-Kara's eyes and a light tremble on her chin but she doesn't break. 

Kara can't have children, not on Earth at least; Kryptonian females had become unable to gestate, a lot of people thought that it was a side effect of the matrix, their ova were healthy, they just couldn't be fertilized and grow inside their bodies. Maybe 55-Lena knows it and that's why she gave her Kara this, a symbolic proof of her impact - _Kara's not Supergirl's_ \- someone named in her honor, a part of Lena herself.

55-Kara presses her lips to Lena's round stomach. There's adoration in her eyes that is requited.

They stay quiet for a while and with 55-Kara's head on Lena's legs, one hand drawing figures on her now covered belly and the other holding Lena's.

"When is he coming back?"

"Next week, that if something doesn't come up again."

The corners of Kara's mouth shift and there's a brief moment she identifies it as anger and then it's gone.

"Well, lucky you. This month's number is ready to print and Sam can cover me for patrol so there's nowhere I need to be but here." She grins. "For the next twenty-four hours at least."

Lena brushes a strand of hair off 55-Kara's face. The touch lingers and becomes a caress to her double's cheekbone.

"Lucky us, indeed."

"Next one." Kara manages to murmur, no doubt the crack in her voice obvious.

  
  



	3. earth-80

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a discovery but not the one you expect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all enjoy this chapter and i'll try to answer you comments soon :)
> 
> p.s. this is barely edited so please overlook any ugly mistake.

_I can't exactly describe how I feel, but it's not quite right. And it leaves me cold._

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, _The Love of the Last Tycoon._

.

.

**•earth-80•**

The change of scenario is abrupt and almost causes her sensory overload. 

A second ago she was in Lena's bedroom with dimmed lights and listening to a conversation that was life-changing in more ways than she could understand, and the next, the sun, too loud noises and voices were attacking her senses. It’s thanks to years of practice and all those times she had to get Alex from night clubs that she accomplishes to block out most of them. 

Kara chooses to focus instead on the murmurs of a woman feeding pigeons and the smell of hot dogs from a stand one block away. It takes her twenty-three exhalations exactly to open her eyes; the sunlight feels less aggressive, and she confirms her supposition that they are in a park, National City Park.

She doesn't get up from the bench she's sat at, doesn't feel ready to start the discovery of this new earth yet. The events of earth-55 left her mind fuzzy.

Kara would be lying if she said it doesn't bother her -it does but just a little- that her best friend never had mentioned her desire for marriage and starting a family. Besides, what are the chances that if those two other Lenas want it hers doesn't? After all, these different versions of them are, at their very core, the same.

Kara nips her thumb, a habit she's tried to get rid of but that comes back at random instances.

Now that she tries to think of it, they haven't really talked about their plans for the future. Sure, there have been passing comments from Lena's side about her expectations for L-Corp or from Kara's about the next game night, the next Christmas party but it's never gotten deeper than that. She tries to recall if there was ever any giveaway that Lena wanted _those lives_ she’s been shown.

Maybe she should have noticed, how the woman's face went softer with Ruby and always was available to go to any place the girl wanted to. Perhaps the worry Lena showed for Alex when she broke off her engagement with Maggie was a hint and when she led Alex aside to talk at movie night after she learned the reason behind it.

Alex knew? Alex who was barely more than a tentative friend and got along with Lena mainly for Kara's sake? 

No, that can't be right. No one knows Lena better than Kara, she knows her even better than she knows herself. During their fight, she knew - _hoped-_ that Lena would come back to the light, to _her,_ even before her friend herself did.

She longs at this moment for nothing more than the solace of her homey apartment with thick curtains and so very quiet in the early hours of the morning, no more sounds to disturb her but the slow traffic that brings the scarce nightlife of the area. 

Kara doesn't get it, of course, because she had the brilliant idea of following Mxyzptlk into this. The aforementioned is currently sitting next to her, indulging in some fries with cheese. 

Kara's ability at blocking out sounds is fine but the imp's munching breaks any barrier she intends to build.

"You need to try these, earth-eighty has the best fried food from all earths."

Kara sighs deeply but still takes one. Her eyes widen, everything in the world is good for the time it takes her to eat the fry. It's the best thing she's ever eaten.

"I know." Mxyzptlk says with a smug grin at her obvious face of delight.

"Give me another one." Kara goes straight for the cone of fries but she's stopped with a warning hand.

"Nah nah, let's buy you some because you're gonna eat mine and want more anyway."

"Fair."

For a blessed moment, Kara forgets the reason why she's on a strange earth, stuffing her mouth with all kinds of fried food available at Jenny's food truck -after the fifth hamburger being on a first name basis seemed only natural- but good things don't last. 

At least not for her.

There's no picture or names, only a headline in the newspaper of a passerby.

_National City's Ultimate Power Couple: L-Corp CEO and CatCo Editor-in-Chief to Host Inaugural Ceremony of National City Observatory._

A want that isn't for greasy snacks surges in her stomach. 

Lena could not be in charge of the company on this earth, although its name suggests otherwise, and also the observatory is one of her projects. Now, regarding CatCo… Kara doesn't know who might be at the front, probably James or someone else. 

_Rao, don't let it be Edge._

She’s not sure which option she prefers or if she prefers one at all. The whole time Kara has known Lena, she's always been single except for those few months she dated James. The mere idea of Lena in a relationship seems unnatural.

The easy road, perhaps even the most logical, would be to buy a newspaper and read the note; the names must be featured in there but she needs to see this with her own eyes. Something in her mind is screaming her to do it as if once she does the switch that’s been off will click back in its place.

“Take me with them.”

“Sure you’re ready?” Mxyzptlk asks with a face devoid of his usual glee but Kara has got no time for crypticism.

“Yes.”

Mxyzptlk lifts his crossed arms in front of him and nods. 

“As you wish then.”

They are on an elevator and invisible to the world again, Kara realizes when she doesn’t find her reflection in the mirror. The doors slide open with a musical _ding_ at the lobby and it doesn’t take her more than a glance to recognize CatCo’s brown-cream linoleum.

Kara doesn't get to keep admiring the architecture of the building because two women enter it and block the view. The one she obtains is much better, though.

“Are you sure that I didn’t overstep? I didn’t even ask if it was something you wanted.” a worried Lena asks.

80-Lena looks every bit the powerful businesswoman she is with a tailored dark green suit, 80-Kara stands next to her in a similar blue attire but with a pair of oxfords, unlike the other woman who's wearing her impossibly high heels. Some things never change.

They both look professional like equals and Kara holds her breath for no discernible reason at the thought.

80-Kara turns to face Lena as the elevator doors close. Their profiles are all she can see, Lena's forehead is furrowed with preoccupation and Kara wants to take her hand to appease her from whatever is causing her a sullen mood. And that's exactly what she does, not her but her double from this earth.

80-Kara takes Lena's hand between hers and her friend's frame lets out some of its tension. 

“No, I told you, it’s beautiful." 80-Kara starts, strong and passionate in her words. "Krypton has always been melancholic memories at its best and night terrors at its worst but it feels just like that, an illusion. Something trapped inside my head that only I can see."

The blonde raises their joined hands to her lips with a reverence Kara herself could have not anticipated but that feels _right_. She continues, with her lips still pressed to the back of Lena's hand and eyes set on hers.

"What you did was make it tangible, a little bit more real, not just for me but for the world.”

“That wing, we don’t need to open it to the public, you know that, right?" Lena murmurs, leaning into 80-Kara's space without noticing. "I initially made it just for you.”

80-Kara shakes her head. 

“No, I want people to see, to learn, and understand Krypton. I don’t want it to die with me, I _need_ it to be real, not just a myth that I could as well have made up.”

Kara swallows the lump in her throat, Mxyzptlk hasn't explained what's happening but she's gathered enough. However, this is a conversation far too meaningful to be having on an elevator, and Kara sighs relieved the moment they step out of it.

There are unshed tears in both pairs of eyes but they manage to blink them away.

"I'll see you later, darling. We are still up for dinner, right?" The CEO says with a last squeeze to 80-Kara's hand and a quick kiss on the cheek, then she leaves. 80-Kara walks towards an office very similar to the one she occupies on her own earth, all the while her sight doesn't dart from Lena.

Everything relents like she's set things in slow motion (or maybe Mxyzptlk has actually done it).

Lena's steps are firm and sonorous against the floor, the sway of her hips and the bounce of her tight ponytail against her back more pronounced. She doesn't stop at the entrance of the editor's office like any other person would, no, she goes in like she owns the place and a smile appears on her lips when the person inside twirls on their chair to receive her.

Lena leans down to cradle a chestnut head, that's the moment 80-Kara stops watching and sits on her desk chair with a clenched jaw. Lena kisses _her._ A woman. The kiss drags on and on and now she's the one that can't continue seeing this bizarre scene. 

How's 80-Lena into women? She wants to ask but that's not what comes out of her mouth.

" _Andrea_?" She tries to form an actual question, one complete sentence at least so she can start seeking answers to why are her best friend and boss essentially making out in an office with glass walls. "I. I thought-"

She can sense the imp’s look bored on her but she refuses to face him, afraid of finding something she isn’t ready to discover.

"What did you think, Kara?"

"Nothing."

She says and it's the truth but it tastes bitter on her tongue.

"How did they even happen?" she questions him in a high-pitched voice that hurts her own sensible ears.

"Oh yeah, they are boarding school darlings.” she purses her lips, not too happy of hearing an endearment Lena had used with her ( _80-her!_ ) now associated with Andrea. “... broke up for a couple of years but made up about two years after miss Rojas moved to National City."

"So _that_ is the difference with my earth?" Kara points contemptuously towards the office.

"What? No. Earth-38-now-Prime and this are practically the same with the exception that here Lena knows about Supergirl since Edge tried to frame her, she's back with Andrea, and oh! Your sister has a kid."

"I'm an aunt!? That's amazing but- wait, so- you mean that on our earth they…?"

"Duh."

"What?" She frowns and sets her hands on her hips to try and transmit some of the confidence Supergirl displays. "But she never mentioned And- or her interest in women."

"Are you blind? Did those fake glasses actually damage your vision or your hearing? Maybe it's your memory, last time you proved we cannot rely on it."

She pushes him back with a little more force than necessary when he starts to invade her personal space.

"What? Why? NO!"

"Shh, easy girlfriend." he sips a milkshake from Belly Burger that appeared out of nowhere, on his other hand there's an honest-to-god scrapbook, glitter, and all titled _Lena's List of Exes and [Redacted]._ Kara doesn't even want to know what's behind. "I hope you appreciate the work I put into this, I don't do arts and crafts just for anyone."

She considers telling him she didn't ask him to but it seems like a waste of saliva, so she waits until he starts flipping the pages.

First, there's a picture of Andrea and her name below.

"You've already met some of her other exes."

"Like?"

"Mercy Graves."

"What? No. They were close but Lena said Mercy was like her sister."

Mxyzptlk sets the scrapbook on the closest desk where McKenzie is furiously typing, unaware of what's happening around her.

"No, almost like her sister. There's a difference."

"How do you know that? You weren't there when she said that."

He shrugs. "Old habits die hard."

"Okay, who else?"

"Evil hottie aka Veronica Sinclair aka Roulette."

Her frown deepens.

"They were classmates, and Veronica bullied her!"

He rolls his eyes and ignores her. 

"It's called sexual tension, you _really_ need to start reading between lines, you're a journalist."

Can she get a migraine? She thinks she can. "Just continue."

"Mmm, Jack and James you know. Ah, yeah, Sam. I really liked them together."

Okay, that one doesn't surprise her, now that women have become an option, Sam and Lena have been close friends for years and there is history there Kara doesn’t know. There's no way she can say or think something bad about Sam, she's a catch and Ruby is great.

"Those are all." Mxyzptlk says, closing the book with a thud.

"Hey, there are more pages, you haven't finished." She points out, there’s half of the scrapbook left and something tells her those aren't blank pages.

The imp literally throws the scrapbook out of an open window and with every passing moment Kara is more sure that she's dreaming or hallucinating after a fight with a rogue alien that knocked her out. Any second now she'll wake up under artificial sunlight and to a worried Alex but until then...

"Why did you that?"

"You can't see it! It would affect the continuity of space and time."

"And being here won't?"

"Oh look, Lena's leaving!"

It's a pathetic distraction. Kara still falls for it.

They are in the editor-in-chief's office and is exactly as Kara remembers it if you don't count the framed picture of Andrea and Lena, relaxing in a yacht -and how's this the first time she's seen Lena in a bikini- next to the one of her and her dad. That and the woman sitting on the desk is also a new addition.

Uneasiness settles in her stomach. This is different from the last two earths they had visited. In them, the evidence of a different life had been there but not as plain as this, with Andrea's hands rounding Lena's neck and pulling her closer to her until there's not an inch between their bodies, a moan sitting low in Lena's throat as Andrea's hand worms down the other woman's back.

It's like Kara is frozen, the connection brain-muscle must have been severed. Her mind tells her to turn away and stop looking at a scene that makes her stomach churn. The fleeting thought of learned Earth prejudices crosses her mind but then she's never felt aversion to two women kissing before. 

"I gotta run, Lillian will be insufferable if I arrive a second late to lunch."

"You only see her once a month. I'd be mad if I was subjected to such restriction of your time too."

The conversation almost flies over her head, too distracted in the methodical way Lena fixes her smudged lipstick. It takes her more than should be appropriate to tear her eyes away from her friend's lips, even she can admit that. Kara tries to hide it with a cough.

"What with Lillian?" she asks Mxyzptlk, who is giving her a funny look.

"Well, since Lex is dead. For real this time, if I may add, Lillian has tried to reconnect with Lena."

"Sounds shady." She feels protective of 80-Lena, even though she's not hers. If what Mxyzptlk had said is right and their earths are quasi identical in events, then every time Lillian has tried to approach Lena she's been left with an open wound, more than figuratively on some occasions.

Mxyzptlk shrugs. "I know but she hasn't tried anything yet."

" _Yet_? What do you mean by 'yet'?" She quotes with her fingers. "Is she going to try something? Because we have to warn Lena, I don't care about your multiverse rules."

"Relax, Kara! I meant nothing, stop with the paranoia." He rests his elbows on the backrest of the couch, mere inches apart from Andrea's head. "God, you need a shot of endorphins."

It's not a shot of endorphins but Lena's sultry voice has a similar effect.

The words that come from her mouth have been uttered to Kara before, in that same tone of voice but in a much different context. She would ask Lena if another movie was okay, another glass of wine if she didn't have to leave soon and every single time her friend would say;

"I always have time for you."

Andrea arches an eyebrow in a way that is achingly familiar but maybe that's only something all the corporate sharks learn at boarding school.

"Is that so?"

Lena nods and this time is her who pulls Andrea in for a kiss. "Yes, I have something _big_ prepared."

"Okay, I'll be there by eight."

"Nine? I have dinner with Kara, and you miss, should be fed and hydrated because the moment you enter my apartment I won't let you go."

Lena's face is in one word: hungry, Kara feels hot just witnessing it, she rather look down at her bunny slippers. Pure, harmless, and fluffy. 

"Sorry, they're always like that. Very _physical_." The imp murmurs as if he could actually be heard.

 _Horny_ , Nia would say.

Lena leaves after reapplying her lipstick (again), she waves to 80-Kara on her way out and the discomfort eases a tad but doesn't go.

It has to be Andrea. She has never liked her, doesn't trust her.

When Kara met her, she knew she would bring her nothing but headaches, however, she thought they would be exclusively related to work. This is worse than the woman's relentless efforts to turn CatCo into a run of the mill clickbait magazine. She's stealing her best friend.

The realization hits her, Lena has been hanging out more with Andrea lately, so she _will_ (most likely) steal her best friend too.

Andrea calls 80-Kara to her office not long after Lena leaves, asks her to take a seat on the couch and Andrea sits on the one in front of her. A coffee table is their only division.

There's a bit of small talk, something unlike her boss, she's very much a woman who demands and expects to receive, not someone who beats around the bush trying to find her words.

"Let’s keep this off record. Shall we?” says Andrea winking at her with confidence that her heartbeat reveals as fake. “I'm going to ask Lena-”

The apprehension on her counterpart's face must reflect hers. Kara hopes her poker face is better than this version's.

_Don't say 'marry me', don't say 'marry me'._

The pause Andrea makes is long and probably intentional, for the sake of drama.

“To move in with me.”

80-Kara deflates with relief, her body sinks minutely on the couch before she assimilates the words and it goes back to a rigid wooden board.

"Wow, that's- wow. You're really serious, uh?"

Andrea whispers a quiet _yeah_ that both Karas can hear, there's a vulnerability in her that she has never seen, not even when her life was being threatened. 

"And I know how much you and your opinion mean to her. I don't want Lena to feel like I'm pushing her into this. I want to get it right this time."

It's a confession, soft and gentle, letting see clear as day that Andrea is in love with Lena. That's a good thing, she tells herself. Lena deserves to be loved unconditionally by whomever she's chosen either if that’s Jack, James, or, on this earth, Andrea.

But why does this thought frighten her?

"I'm sure she'll say yes." 80-Kara answers with a shaky smile, she’s given one back that is all white teeth and magenta lips and _hope._

She'll attribute that fear to them taking her place in Lena’s life. 

The little ugly bug in her head justifies her with arguments like they don’t know Lena enough, her needs; the things she doesn’t say because she doesn’t feel worthy when in reality she deserves everything. The bug also questions the strength of their feelings that (at least in their earth of origin) made it so easy for them to leave, to just give up and quit the fight. Lena isn't someone easy to love, that Kara knows. 

There are a lot of sharp edges around Lena, more for her own protection than to intentionally hurt anyone who dares to come too close, but Kara has always been willing to bleed for a cause.

"Do you want to see what happens next?"

She can’t express enough how much she does **not** want to see Lena and Andrea all over each other. "Just get us out of here already."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> will kara make up her mind soon? who do you think will be lena's significant other in the next chapter? i already know but i'd like to hear your guessing.
> 
> until next time.


	4. earth-31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one more chapter (and maybe an epilogue to go)  
> know that I read all your comments and I love every one of them.  
> Now, I hope you enjoy and until next time :)

_ How strange, to dream of you even when I am wide awake. _

David Jones, Love As The Stars Went Out.

**• earth-31•**

It wasn't Andrea. 

That’s the first thought that comes to her mind when they land on earth-31 and the first thing her eyes fall upon is the image of Lena kissing someone, well, not just  _ someone. _

Reign.

Reign in her full smokey eye and black regalia. Lena is kissing Reign -with a damn lot of unnecessary tongue- in the middle of the DEO, and she is half expecting for the agents to pull out their weapons and point at the villain but no one soul bats an eye, as if this is an everyday picture, that for all Kara knows, it could as well be true. 

She considers the possibility of this earth being similar to the reality with Metallo Lena where Reign was her second in command. With the (still) newfound information of Lena’s preferences and the scene before her she could swear their relationship had been more than just a professional evil agenda.

“Reign, you are on duty, please unplug your mouths.” Alex’s commanding voice resonates through all the place, there’s an undertone of amusement there, imperceptible for most people but Kara catches it. The women all but ignore her, on the contrary, Reign pulls Lena closer by the waist, and Lena honest to god  _ giggles  _ into the kiss. 

Kara unconsciously clenches her jaw and Alex sighs annoyed in an echo of Kara's own emotions, so she chooses to focus on her sister instead; she looks the same but for the long brown ponytail Kara hasn’t seen since high school when she decided to go red after entering her X-Files era.

She hears a laugh through Alex's comms, then a swoosh and a thud that sends vibrations through the facility announce an arrival.

“I can hear the smooching from two miles away.” says Supergirl strutting down the stairs with a grin on her face.

It's  _ her _ what takes for the other two to extricate from each other.

The voice that comes out of Reign's dark lips is unmistakably Sam's, and again, there are more questions than answers.

"Jealous, Superwoman?" 

Okay, pause.

How is that other earths have taken upon calling her  _ Superwoman _ and could someone tell her, please? There's nothing wrong with being called a 'girl' but it feels like she's outgrown the name.

Superwoman shrugs with one shoulder, her hands rest on her hips and the delivery of that simple gesture has  _ so much _ swagger. Kara tends to act more confident when she's wearing the suit but she's one hundred percent sure she isn't near this cool.

(Maybe that's the superhero name upgrade requirement)

The grin doesn't leave Superwoman's face, it just morphs to something almost secretive when her eyes connect with Lena's. "I don't think there's a need for that."

Lena swallows and bites her bottom lip. She doesn't say anything but there's something charged in the air, thick and dense floating between them. Alex breaks the spell by clearing her throat, it's like one of those scenes in movies where things suddenly recover sound and movement around the characters after they have 'a moment'.

"Now that Ka- Superwoman is here I need you in the sky Reign"

"Aye, Captain." Reign-Sam? Leans in to give a last loud kiss to Lena on the lips and mutters a quiet. "See you for dinner." Before flying off the place.

Lena sighs contentedly, then her eyes set on Superwoman with a gleam in them. It seems like looking at each other intently is kind of a Lena and Kara thing everywhere.

Now that she's an outsider, Kara realizes how uncomfortable that is.

"I can't be around this anymore." Alex says, vaguely pointing at Lena and Superwoman's direction with a hand, and with the other, she takes a tablet from the command center table. "Tell Ruby I said hi."

Then, she leaves them to keep working on whatever this earth's Alex does.

Lena looks up at Superwoman, awkwardness, and whatever had been going on just a minute ago, gone.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

*******

Kara could see herself, seated in a worn out booth at Belly Burger with her usual combo of jumbo fries, two cheeseburgers with extra meat, and a big vanilla milkshake in front of her. The delicious smell floods her nostrils and yet, 31-Kara barely pays any attention to the food.

This earth's self looks at Lena longingly while the woman chats animatedly with expressive hands. And Kara wonders,

_ What does she exactly long for? _

Kara observes 31-Lena, trying to pinpoint what could her self from this earth want from her.

She notices that this Lena looks younger even though she knows her Lena is the same age.

Maybe it's the clothing; just a soft cotton shirt and jeans, or the hair; loose in soft waves framing her face, or the light coming through the dingy window making Lena's eyes look aquamarine. Perhaps it is simply the result of a different life where sleepless nights are spent working on something she's passionate about, something good, that'll help people instead of doing damage control of whatever problem her terrible family has caused this time.

"What?" Lena asks 31-Kara who's still playing her one-sided staring contest.

"Nothing." 

Lena lifts her eyebrows as if encouraging her friend to speak her mind but all she gets is 31-Kara stuffing her mouth with a burger and since her friend apparently won't yield, Lena also decides to concentrate on food instead.

They eat in silence for a while but Kara has never been one for quietness while she's eating so it's not long before 31-Kara tries to start a conversation.

"Hey, are you excited for summer break?"

Lena chuckles. "What am I? Fifteen?"

"No, but you're the mother of a half-Kryptonian teen girl with developing powers."

Lena groans and sinks a little more in the cracked synthetic leather booth.

“Don’t get me started with Ruby, she’s been using her superspeed to play pranks on the mean girls of her school.”

“Nice.” 31-Kara says, slurping her milkshake with gusto. Lena glares at her. “...or not?”

“She could expose herself! You know better than anyone the importance of maintaining your powers secret.”

"At least you won't have to worry about that in Argo." The blonde shrugs, nonchalant then stops, mid bite to what must be her third burger, to lo look at Lena. "Because you are coming this time, right? Mom has been asking for you.”

There is _ the _ lip bite, that distracting tic that always comes out when Lena is overthinking something.

“Yes, I’d love to catch up with Alura and vacations do sound nice, those who say being a housewife is not a job can shove it up to their asses.”

31-Kara's smile could have been as well infused with sunlight. Does Kara smile like that at her own Lena? With her whole face and a part of her heart in display too?

“Kinky" Lena throws a fry at 31-Kara's face but the blonde catches it in her mouth with a triumphant smile. "But true and you can add your research work to that too now. How's the lab at home thing going, by the way? It's already 'super-proof'?" 31-Kara asks, making air quotes with her fingers.

"It's going well and no, the ban stands until I figure a way out for you and the other two menaces I live with to not make the place explode."

"You love us, though."

Lena rolls her eyes.

"I do love you but I don't want to lose the work of weeks  _ again _ just because you can't stay still."

“Fine, now, we have an itinerary to plan for the summer,” 31-Kara says, manifesting a pen and paper out of nowhere. “the sooner the better.”

That’s how the next half hour or so passes, with them talking excitedly about places to go, souvenirs to take, people to visit. Their fingers brush accidentally when they talk about promenades at the piazza and they are holding hands by the time 31-Kara mentions asking her mother for the recipe for the oregus bread.

Kara is so engrossed in her own memories, of Astra preparing oregus bread for solstice since her mother used to be busy most of the time and calling Kara to be her helper, of good times, almost forgotten times that are more the reminiscence of an aroma than an actual picture that she’s barely aware of whatever is happening around her.

Lena's phone screen lights on to display the notification of a message, Sam's name reads on it. Lena tries to extricate her hand from her friend's, guilt obvious all over her face but it flies over Kara's head. 

31-Kara doesn't let her hand go, though and Lena seems to decide not to fight it. The blonde’s face is solemn and her voice just as earnest when she says, "You know you don't need to choose, right?" 

“Wha-what do you mean?” Lena asks, wide eyed as if she had just been caught doing something she shouldn't.

“That you can have both if you want, that is.  _ She  _ thinks the same.”

At this moment, Kara's first thought is that she refers to Lena balancing her personal and professional life. In the future, when Kara's mind isn't plagued by pain and the remainder of her world lost twice but impossibly, incredibly still  _ here _ in one of the many nooks of the multiverse she'll come back to this moment to make a double take and obsess over the meaning behind those words but not today.

Today she prefers to let her heart find solace in the reality of this earth, this world where her culture is alive, where she has two moms that love her, a sister that would do anything for her and Lena, who's formed a family of her own with Sam and Ruby but has managed to be part of 31-Kara's. It seems like a happy life.

But then, there’s still that look in 31-Kara’s eyes that makes the questions,  _ What does she exactly long for? What could she want from her [Lena]? _ Echo in her mind and this time Kara has the answer.

It comes to her like an epiphany that’s not actually that revealing. What this Kara wants is Lena. All of her.

If Kara gave it a second thought, she would realize that look has been the same in every earth, (and a part of her has -at some level- done it). It feels about time to start accepting that maybe Sam and the others aren’t the problem. However, Kara is not ready to deal with the alternative.

Not yet.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hint of superreigncorp in another earth? maybe so

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like it, comments and kudos are appreciated.  
> Also, you can find me on Tumblr as @janusa.


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